La. Dems file complaint against Vitter

The political committees of Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) have been accused of scheming to conceal a contribution from Pickering to Vitter in violation of federal campaign finance laws.

The Louisiana Democratic Party plans to file a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission today, charging that Barbour’s PAC essentially filtered a $5,000 campaign donation from Pickering’s PAC to Louisiana Vitter’s 2010 reelection committee to make it look like the contribution didn’t come directly from Pickering.

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Louisiana Democrats allege that Pickering didn’t want it to look like one Republican embroiled in a sex scandal was giving to another Republican involved in a sex scandal.

Pickering says the charges simply aren’t true.

“The claims of the Louisiana Democratic Party are false. My contribution to Governor Barbour was to him and him alone,” Pickering said in a written statement sent to POLITICO. “This is consistent with my long history of supporting Republican officials in Mississippi.”

Louisiana Democrats charge that all three committees violated campaign finance laws that prohibit making or knowingly accepting contributions made under the name of a person other than the true donor, according to a copy of the complaint provided to POLITICO.

Vitter’s office has not yet commented on the complaint.

Section 441(f) of federal campaign finance law reads: “No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person.”

Here’s the evidence Louisiana Democrats are presenting to the FEC:

In August, Barbour’s low-dollar political action committee, Haley’s PAC, collected just one check and made just one contribution, each for $5,000. The outgoing donation was to Vitter’s campaign, and it was recorded four days before the receipt, which was from CHIP PAC. That is CHIP PAC’s only activity since Pickering retired in January, and Haley’s PAC has made only one other donation this year.